Aston Villa vs Newcastle: Preview and Prediction

Newcastle United desperate for a win to stay ahead in survival battle when take on a poor Aston Villa on Saturday evening.

The Villains looked set for their first win in 11 matches against Watford last Saturday after holding a 2-1 lead till the 90th minute, but 2 quick goals conceded in the dying minutes put them to another defeat.

Newcastle’s narrow 1-0 home win against Crystal Palace in the last round put them a point above the relegation zone, but both Sunderland and Norwich have a match in hand. A win here is necessary as the Magpies will be playing away at White Hart Lane in the final match day of the season.

Form Guide

Aston Villa are coming on the back of 11 straight defeats and there is nothing significant to talk about their form. The team is poor both home and away and stand no chance to bag a win in their remaining two matches.

Newcastle’s bad run has finally came to end and they are now on a 4 match unbeaten run. They were without a win in 7 matches prior to this and their away form is still poor as they haven’t won in their last 10.

Aston Villa: Team News

Aly Cissokho is suspended for the match, while Jordan Amavi is already injured. Kieran Richardson is still not fully fit, but is likely to feature at the left side of midfield as Eric Black is expected to stick with the 3-5-2 formation that almost helped them to grab a rare win last time out.

Gabriel Agbonlahor is suspended by the club and may not play further part this season.

Aston Villa: Predicted Line-up (3-5-2)

Newcastle United: Team News

Rafa Benitez is not expected to make any changes to the side that performed admirably in the last two matches. This also means that Cisse will be the first choice striker with Mitrovic once against starting off from the bench.

Newcastle United: Predicted Line-up (4-2-3-1)

Aston Villa vs Newcastle: Head-to-Head Stats

Newcastle United are on a 9 match unbeaten run against Aston Villa in the Premier League, with 5 wins and 4 draws. And three of the last four matches between the two sides were draws.

The Magpies are also unbeaten in 4 away matches at Villa Park, with 2 wins and 2 draws.
Aston Villa’s last win against Newcastle was at home on April 2011.

Aston Villa vs Newcastle: Prediction

Aston Villa’s fate is already sealed and they have nothing to play for. There is nothing to be expected from a team with poor attitude and discipline.

Newcastle on the other hand had shown good fighting spirit in their last four outings. The teams seems to be highly motivated under Rafa Benitez and will eyeing all three points against the rock bottom side.